1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to an energy management system, and more particularly to an energy management system and method for monitoring and controlling the water heater system and the delivery of hot water to the point of use so as to optimize energy efficiency and reducing energy consumption while increasing reliability and durability of the water heater system.
2. Description of Related Arts
Energy crisis has called people's attention to energy availability and hence energy consumption and efficiency. Conventional hot water arrangement, such as water heater or boiler, is an essential household appliance for supplying hot water. However, much concern is paid to the energy management of the conventional hot water arrangement or heater. The heat insulation of the boiler or the heating device is mainly concerned for improvement of energy efficiency while the related pumping or transportation of water is greatly neglected. That is, conventional water heaters fail to provide a cohesive energy management approach in view of energy saving purpose.
Another major cause of energy loss of the water heater is poor maintenance or lack of alerts. For examples, hot water leakage or pump malfunction problems won't be detected easily, probably not until the water heater is malfunctioned or the leakage is severe enough to cause flooding. In view of the widely use of water heater in every single household, much energy is wasted, just because of poor management, and lack of detection and alert mechanisms.
Another problem related to maintenance of water heater is its dependency on on-site inspections. The fact that the water heater location may be scattered everywhere in every single family property structure, apartment structure, small and large commercial building structures makes it really impossible to have a centralized manageable system. There is no simple or easy way for central maintenance.
There exists management systems for a commercial building for tracking and controlling HVAC and lighting. However, this kind of system is very expensive and involves heavy construction, building design and wiring concerns. It is only cost effective and energy efficient for commercial building having a certain size. In other words, there is no such kind of energy management system designed for residential or small scale commercial buildings.